Moving Violation
by Silver Wolf16
Summary: Dawn Bellwether has finally been paroled. Her first order of business: getting her identification in order. How hard can that be? Oneshot.


I woke up, squinting at the sunlight filtering through the window of my old childhood home. It'd only been a few weeks since my parole was approved and I was still adjusting to life on the outside again—considering the last time I was in this house was…something approaching a decade and more ago.

With a sigh, I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes, then walked out to the mailbox and retrieved its contents. Having done so, I walked back into my room and grabbed my glasses from the nightstand, carefully putting them on.

I was murmuring to myself as I sorted through the sizeable stack I was holding. "Junk, junk, a letter from one of my many 'fans'…lacking a return address, unsurprisingly….hmm, what's this?"

I scanned over the upper right corner, which read _State of Zootopia, Department of Motor Vehicles_

"What could they want with me?" I asked as I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out its contents, reading the letter as quickly as I could—a bit of a feat since I hadn't even had coffee yet.

_Dear Ms. Bellwether_

_ It has come to the attention of the Department that you have not renewed your drivers' license in the last five years' time. _

_ Regulations thus require that you renew your license in person at the nearest ZDMV office. You will be required to also take a driving test to determine your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. Please make sure the vehicle you choose to use is properly insured and registered. _

_Also, be ready to provide proof of residence as well as proof of identity, such as a birth certificate. Please be aware that we cannot accept copies. _

_Sincerely, _

_Zootopia Department of Motor Vehicles_

I just shook my head. _It's a little difficult to renew my license when I'm behind bars. Never mind that I haven't driven a motor vehicle since….my learners' permit. Damn short ewe problems. _

Still, having a license was a necessity, even in a small town like my hometown of Spring Burrows. Though, it was a bit of a walk…and then there was the problem of needing a vehicle to take the test with.

Thankfully, at least _that _problem I could do something about. Judy and I had…reconciled our differences and she promised she'd help me with anything I needed in my return to society. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my list of contacts (which took all of three seconds, as I didn't have many) until I found her number.

"Hello?" I heard. "Oh, hi Dawn…what's up?"

"Apparently, the DMV saw fit to send me a renewal notice…and since I've spent the last five years in prison, I have to renew in person as well as take a driving test. I haven't taken one since I was fourteen…"

"Oh, it's just like riding a bicycle…"

"_That _I can do easily, Judy…it was my preferred way of getting around the city. But…me, behind the wheel of a car? I'm petrified.."

"Okay, I'll go with you. Tomorrow good? I'm off tomorrow…"

"Sure, but why tomorrow?"

"You….haven't been to the DMV in a while, haven't you? Make sure you've had a filling breakfast and dress comfortably…this could take a while…"

"How long is 'a while'?" I asked.

"You'll just have to see for yourself…"

She was right—it'd been a while since I visited the DMV office. When renewal time usually came for me in the past, I just renewed online.

"Oh heavens….I forgot that all the sloths in Zootopia work for the DMV." I murmured, taking a number from the provided device and then glancing up above the counter.

It read: NOW SERVING 15.

I looked at the piece of paper in my hoof. The number on it was 20. "Looks like we won't be_ too _long here."

"I dunno….back when Nick brought me here years ago, I was the only one in line—and a police officer requesting a tag check to boot. Still took us all day."

"Ouch…" I said.

"You _did _take my advice about dressing comfortably, did you? It's probably good that you have extra….fluff in your hindquarters. Trust me—you'll need the cushion."

"It can't possibly be _that _long, can it?"

She just shrugged.

I sat down on a chair next to her and got myself comfortable.

The next thing I knew, I felt a nudge on my shoulder. I murmured…and the nudge got more insistent with a whisper.

"Dawn…you're up…"

"Huh…what? Goodness, did I fall asleep?" I asked.

"Yep. Three hours. You were even snoring."

"Three _hours_?" I asked, incredulous. Then I made my way over towards the open spot at the counter. Meeting the gaze of the attendant, I started to state the reason for my visit.

"What…" the sloth started to say.

"I'd like to renew my license…." I said..

"Can…"

"I'd like to…"

"I…"

I shook my head. _This is going to drive me bonkers. _Deciding not to waste my time repeating myself over and over, I waited for the attendant to finish their greeting—an agonizing two minutes.

Finally, I got my request out. "I'm here to renew my license. Here are my utility bills and my birth certificate." I replied, rather rapidly.

"Okay. Let me look this up…" the attendant said over the space of another two minutes.

I heard the agonizing click of keys being pressed one at a time, and it was at this moment I fervently wished my mother had named me something considerably shorter than Dawn Lilly Marie Bellwether. Then again, even if my name were Jane Doe, it would still be an ordeal.

"Ahh, yes. You will need to take a driving test. Please walk out to the course. Thank you," the clerk said over another five minutes.

Start to finish, I spent the better part of an _hour_ for something that should have taken ten minutes at most. Needless to say, I was more than a little irritated when I walked out to the driving course after stopping to get the keys from Judy.

I thanked all the heavens that the instructor was _not _a sloth. I don't think I could have endured another thirty minutes of just saying hi without going completely thermonuclear and doing something that probably would have seen me back in prison.

"Miss Bellwether, I presume?" the middle aged feline inquired.

"Yes," I replied. "Here is the insurance card and the registration for the vehicle I will be using for the test. It's parked over there," I said, gesturing over to where Judy had parked her…rather small car.

He nodded and walked over to inspect her vehicle. "It will do…are you ready for your exam?"

"Um…yes…" I said, a little nervous.

"Okay. Then let's get started," he said before opening the passenger door and squeezing inside—clearly, the car was designed for much smaller drivers and passengers. Judy and I were around four foot two each.

I got in the driver's side and sat down. The instructor glanced over at me and said, "Are you _sure _you can see over the dash?"

I blinked. Suddenly I heard a beep from my phone. "Just a moment. Let me see who this is…" I said.

It was a message from Judy: _Dawn, I can see your poof above the dash and nothing else. There's a booster seat in the trunk. You look like you need it._

"A booster seat?" I muttered as I got out and opened the trunk of the car. Sure enough, the seat lay in the middle. _Were they planning for children someday? _

I took it and set it on the driver's seat and then got in myself. _Much better. I can see out of the windshield now. _

The instructor cocked an eyebrow. I just shrugged and said, "Short ewe problems."

Then I looked at the steering wheel. Apparently Judy had to have the car customized due to her size. All of the controls, except for the gear shift, were on the wheel.

I started the car, still shaking a little. I was _still _a bit afraid of anything bigger than me. But since my time in prison, I could at least stand to be in the same room as a predator without going into a full blown panic attack.

"Now, make your way to the parking test area of the course…" he said.

I nodded and _gently _(I hoped) accelerated the car forward. Arriving at the designated area, I hit the brakes…which caused a slight squeal of tires because apparently I'd hit the brakes a bit _too _hard.

"Miss Bellwether…" he asked, "just how long has it been since you last drove a vehicle?"

"Let me see…I'm twenty nine, so…fifteen years? I usually depended on either my bicycle or public transportation."

"I see."

"I haven't driven since my learners' permit."

"Well…I would hope you remember enough to pass this exam. Now, if you would, please park the vehicle between those cones…"

I nodded, pulling the car between the rather widely spaced cones. "Like that?"

He paused and glanced at the space in front of us. "If this were just a normal parking exercise, yes. Unfortunately, this is a _parallel _parking exercise."

I sighed heavily. I stopped attempting to parallel park after banging both bumpers off the one and only car I ever owned and my insurance rates went somewhere into the stratosphere. It was right about that point in my life that I decided to take my chances with public transportation.

Groaning, I backed the car up and started to pull into the space in the required fashion…or at least some acceptable semblance of such. I closed my eyes suddenly as I felt the car run over the rear cones at the back.

"Well, I guess that's well enough—if your aim is to crush a car like an empty can. Thankfully…there isn't as much weight on the parallel parking portion of the exam as the city is moving towards more parking garages…"

"That's good, yes?" 

He sighed. "Let's continue to the next portion of the exam…."

Next up was the three point turn…which took me about ten. The feline shook his head and said, "Okay…now the last part. The live driving portion."

I stared out at the road that ran by the testing course. "You want me…to drive…out there?" I asked.

"Yes. It's necessary to ascertain that you know how to drive a vehicle in actual real world conditions."

"Okay…," I said nervously. Slowly I drove over to the exit from the course.

"Dawn…you _can _move faster than idle speed towards the road…."

I nodded, not saying a word. After what felt like an eternity, I was ready to turn out onto the actual roads of Spring Burrows.

I made a slow right turn, stopping several times to make absolutely sure there was no oncoming traffic.

"Miss Bellwether…please do give it some gas…we haven't all day…," the instructor muttered, impatiently.

So I did. Perhaps a bit _too _much, as the car leapt forward like a startled rabbit. I squealed and hit the brake lever…and the car stopped so suddenly I thought I'd smack my head against the steering wheel.

"Okay…" he said, a bit annoyed. "Now, make a right turn here…"

I started to….and again, stopped a few times during the turn. Suddenly a car came right at us from over the hill, apparently going a bit too fast to even notice my small car.

And then full panic mode began. I pressed the accelerator so hard that the car gunned it…across the median and into oncoming traffic. I screamed and pulled the car back onto the right side of the road…and then off the side of the road as dirt got kicked up everywhere.

"All right, I've seen enough. Take us back to the testing station…" he said, a paw on his chest.

I did as he asked, pulling into the parking space with a squeal of tires and the smell of rubber burning. He got out and got on all fours, giving fervent thanks to be on solid ground again.

I watched him head back into the examination office. Judy walked over to me, her eyes wide. "My poor car is okay, isn't it?"

"Of course."

A few minutes later he walked out with a piece of paper and handed it to Judy. She glanced at it, cocked an eyebrow, and asked, "Seriously?"

The instructor only nodded, then briskly turned and walked back into the building…visibly trembling.

"Did I pass?" I asked her.

"Well, yeah, but this has to be a first…" she said, then handed me the paper.

I glanced at it and chuckled. It read, "Passed—on account of the need for self preservation and to keep from having to give her an exam again. Please DO make use of the online renewal function in the future."

"Okay…" I said.

"Now all we need is to get your picture and we're done."

That, as it turned out, was another hour long ordeal. The picture taker was so slow that she caught me in mid yawn. And so…that was how my driver's license picture looked. I would have asked them to do it over again but I didn't have another hour to waste, as a sudden growl informed me.

We walked out, and I noticed the sun was starting to set. "Well, _that _was a day I'll never get back…"

"But at least you're all square with your license now."

"I'd still prefer a bicycle or public transportation, but the latter is scarce here in Spring Burrows…"

"True. So where do you want to go for dinner?"

"I dunno. Surprise me?" I said, as I got into the passenger seat of her car. Looking out at the world before me, I realized that I'd gotten at least one part of my return to society completed.

I fervently hoped that the rest of that journey wasn't as much of an ordeal as today.


End file.
